Flagler murder suspect faces sentence for prior felony

In a couple of weeks, Erick Niemi is expected to get a prison sentence for stealing a generator. If all had gone according to plan, he would have avoided seeing the inside of a jail cell.

TONY HOLTSTAFF WRITER

BUNNELL — In a couple of weeks, Erick Niemi is expected to get a prison sentence for stealing a generator. If all had gone according to plan, he would have avoided seeing the inside of a jail cell.The deal his attorney made with the State Attorney's Office, and agreed upon by the judge, was that he would follow the conditions set forth in a pretrial intervention program and his felony charge would eventually be dropped.Then in May, the 42-year-old Niemi got arrested on allegations that he killed his landlord and stole his minivan. Soon thereafter, the agreed-to privileges related to his 2012 arrest were revoked.Niemi is awaiting trial on the latest charges but the punishment for his original grand theft charge will be settled long before then. He was scheduled to be sentenced Monday but the hearing was reset for July 15. Based on court documents, Niemi was charged after borrowing a generator and not returning it. In February, he pleaded no contest and was granted the option of entering the pretrial intervention program. But any arrest can disqualify a defendant from the program.Niemi was arrested June 1 and accused of killing his landlord, Leonard Lynn, 72, and stealing his van a few days earlier. The slaying happened following an argument about rent and living arrangements, according to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office. Niemi's mother, Diann K. Bennett, wrote a letter in June to Circuit Judge J. David Walsh seeking leniency for her son. Bennett, who lives in Brooksville, wrote that her son suffers from "limited mental capacity along with mild mental retardation."In a letter filed June 24, Bennett described her son as a "hard worker ... with NO history of violent behavior." She concluded her son acted in self-defense and accused Lynn of showing a tendency of disruptive and violent behavior toward his tenants.Bennett said she had spoken to her son two weeks following his arrest when he called her and told her Lynn was "enraged" and he had acted as the "aggressor." She also said Niemi had told her Lynn had come after him with a knife and he was scared of being killed.When Lynn continued coming after Niemi, he "knocked him down and hit him until he stopped being aggressive," Bennett wrote. "Unfortunately, Mr. Lynn expired."Bennett also stated her son's condition caused him to struggle with day-to-day responsibilities, including paying bills, renewing licenses, returning items he borrowed, and saving money. It was because of Niemi's mental condition that he didn't seek medical attention for Lynn, she wrote.Bennett said her daughter sent a letter to Lynn's relatives offering their condolences."Our family is sickened by the senseless and tragic loss of Mr. Lynn," Bennett wrote. Authorities found Lynn's body three days after the slaying. He was lying in the master bedroom of the house at 26 Ryken Lane, Palm Coast, with a pillow covering his face, according to the Sheriff's Office.Deputies were called after Lynn's relatives showed up at the home and found blood on the floor of one of the rooms, deputies said.The door of the master bedroom was locked and deputies had to break the door to get inside, according to reports.Niemi was found a few blocks away inside Lynn's minivan, detectives said.